Love Sonnet XCIV
If I die, survive me with such sheer force
that you waken the furies of the pallid and the cold
from south to south lift your indelible eyes,
from sun to sun dream through your singing mouth.
I don't want your laughter or your steps to waver,
I don't want my heritage of joy to die.
Don't call up my person. I am absent.
Live in my absence as if in a house.
Absence is a house so vast
that inside you will pass through its walls
and hang pictures on the air
Absence is a house so transparent
that I, lifeless, will see you, living,
and if you suffer, my love, I will die again.
Pablo Neruda
April 24 was when our family said goodbye to Amanda, beloved wife of Keith, mother of Hunter, Riley, Ella and Madi. She was just 4 days shy of her 42nd birthday, taken from us by cancer. Her funeral attracted hundreds and the memories shared were joyous and reflected the impact of her life, her courage and her love. The family is strong, numerous and tight. Her husband is determined to carry on, raising the children and running the farm that she loved so much. Now the living must deal with her absence and hang pictures in the air.
This book has so much to offer us through the poems selected. We are always saying goodbye; to loved ones, to relationships, to our youth, our careers, our once healthy bodies...grief is a frequent companion and too often we do not know what to say, or how to cope. In the quiet hours of the night, this is one place to turn.
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